The first mass Edinburgh Marathon was held in 1982, starting in Holyrood Park and running through the Grassmarket and down Lothian Road, along Princes Street and down into Leith, along to Cramond and along the coast back through Silverknowes to Leith, up Easter Road and finishing in Meadowbank Stadium.

The Edinburgh Marathon Festival has been held each year in Edinburgh, Scotland since 2003, usually in May. It is run over the traditional distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi). The Edinburgh Marathon has IAAF Bronze Label status and is governed by Scottish Athletics.

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The Edinburgh Marathon Festival was founded by Geoff Sims and the first year’s event on June 15, 2003, attracted just 3,000 participants. The course started at Meadowbank Stadium, taking in Princes Street, Holyrood Palace and the Royal Yacht Britannia. Frank McGowan from Glasgow won the men’s race in 2.35 with the slowest man Lloyd Stott taking more than six days to complete the race wearing a deep sea diving suit weighing more than 100 pounds.

In 2007 organisers designed a new route that headed in to East Lothian through Longniddry and Port Seton, finishing in Musselburgh race course. With an elevation drop of 40 metres, the average finish time was almost 12 minutes faster than previous year's and Edinburgh earned its title of UK’s fastest marathon.

In 2010, the half marathon was introduced for the first time with entry levels jumping to more than 24,000.

2011 was the first time the Edinburgh Marathon Festival was hosted over two days. As well as the full marathon, the festival also included a 5K, 10K, two junior races and a half marathon and a team relay race, affectionately named the “Hairy Haggis.”

The Edinburgh Marathon is often criticised for the complex logistics involved for both runners and spectators, as the course's layout necessitates travel between Edinburgh city centre and East Lothian. Due to road closures and infrequent train services, there are often bottlenecks of traffic and long delays. Although shuttle buses are provided, many runners struggle with the long walk to the pick-up point after their race.

Additionally, whilst the race starts in Edinburgh, less than eight miles of the course lie within the city boundaries, with the remainder being run in East Lothian. The course encompasses less than three miles of the city centre.

For the 2014 race, the organisers initially refused to publish full results, only giving times for the top three in each category. This sparked criticism from runners, with many threatening to boycott future events. It may have breached rules from the International Association of Athletics Federations.[2] Following feedback, the organisers later decided to publish full results.[3]